The man strode forward and stopped in front of Kyla, extending one hand toward her.

“Miss Feilding, would you grant me the honor of the next dance?”

Where do people learn such oily, clumsy lines? Silas frowned.

Kyla didn’t seem particularly pleased with him either. The discomfort on her pale face was plain to see.

He had no intention of caring whether Jayden had glanced at him meaningfully after asking him to look after her.

He didn’t want to concern himself with whether this smooth operator had managed to charm the young lady who couldn’t even bring herself to look him in the eye.

Absolutely not.

But it seemed that both his feet and his tongue had slipped beyond his control.

“Ah, sorry about that, but the next dance is already promised to me.”

Silas stepped forward by half a pace and spoke without thinking.

There was no particular reason.

He simply didn’t want to see the man’s unpleasant face any longer. That was all.

“Is that so? Well then… perhaps the dance after that would be all right, Miss Feilding?”

The man might have been a scoundrel, but he wasn’t so impatient as to give up on Kyla that easily.

“The dance after that is promised to me.”

This time, it was Jayden who spoke.

The man’s eyes darted rapidly between Jayden, who wore a gentle smile, Kyla, who was looking at him suspiciously, and Silas, who tilted his head slightly, seemingly unconcerned.

“Th-then, Miss Feilding, the dance after that—”

“Ah… that one’s my turn again.”

Silas spoke lazily, lifting one corner of his mouth into a crooked smile.

At this, the man’s brow twisted into a deep scowl. His face flushed red and blue as he glared at Jayden and Silas. Then he abruptly turned on his heel and stormed away.

A moment later, Silas silently cursed himself.

Just to avoid seeing that scoundrel’s face, he had impulsively declared that he would dance with Kyla twice.

Ultimately, he had no choice but to honor his word and dance with her twice.

He placed one hand on her back and took her hand in the other as they began to turn slowly to the elegant three-beat rhythm of the waltz.

He still couldn’t quite believe that he was dancing with the daughter of Count Snowdon — a woman he had firmly decided not to become involved with.

A woman whose relationship with Jayden — whether she was truly his sister or something more — was unclear.

But what irritated Silas most was that Kyla Feilding did not seem the slightest bit pleased by his invitation to dance.

The entire situation displeased him.

Kyla felt much the same.

She simply couldn’t understand it.

Why had this man insisted on dancing with her twice?

Especially since he spent the entire time with his lips pressed tightly together, looking as though he had just swallowed something unpleasant.

Judging by how well he and Jayden seemed to understand each other, perhaps the two of them had planned something together. Jayden must have been worried that his sister might dance with the wrong man and ruin her life. Otherwise, he would not have gone so far as to block every man who came near her.

Kyla was grateful for Jayden’s concern, yet wished he would stop worrying unnecessarily.

Why couldn’t he see that she was no longer a fourteen-year-old girl?

She knew exactly what men were thinking when they approached her.

A girl who had lost her mother and her fortune, and had watched her father take his own life, could not remain innocent forever in a world that was not gentle enough.

She would rather dance with men who looked at her as if she were money than stand here with Silas.

Just as a piece of wood stirred no emotion in her, those men meant nothing to her either.

Now she understood that what Silas had said back then was true. Most horses with broken legs were put down. Euthanasia was often the best way to spare them from suffering.

But that didn’t erase the shock of watching a living horse being shot dead that day. In fact, Silas’s frowning face and low voice brought back those terrible memories one by one.

As soon as she started dancing with him, she was reminded of the boy who had once covered her eyes.

His intense gaze fixed on her brought back memories of the cold-eyed boy who had once scolded her for being ignorant.

Every moment she spent with him brought back the dark, cruel memories she had tried so hard to forget.

First came the gunshot and the metallic scent of blood. Then she saw the horse’s long, limp legs hanging from the cart.

Next, she saw her mother slowly dying in bed, and her father lying on the floor with blood streaming from his head and a terrifying expression on his face.

Throughout the entire dance, she had to grit her teeth to endure the tightening pain in her chest.

When it ended, Silas escorted her back to Jayden.

Jayden was talking to a beautiful young woman with thick, reddish-brown hair.

She noticed Kyla and Silas and smiled brightly at them.

She reminded Kyla of a brilliant summer flower — a gladiolus.

“Miss Rothermere, you’ve finally arrived.”

Silas greeted the red-haired lady with a faint smile.

“Your Grace, I’m sorry for being late. Of all days, the carriage wheel had to break today. What terrible luck.”

She smiled sweetly, her eyes curving elegantly. There was something graceful about her that seemed to brighten the entire room.

“Ah, so this must be the famous Miss Feilding. It’s lovely to meet you. I’m Penelope Rothermere.”

Kyla was familiar with the name Rothermere.

The noblewoman who occasionally visited the Feilding household with her daughter was the Countess of Rothermere.

This beautiful young lady with reddish-brown hair must be the younger of the two women who looked so alike, and who had once listened to Kyla play the piano in the drawing room.

“Hello. I’m Kyla Feilding.”

She gave a small smile in return.

“Yes, I know. Miss Kyla Feilding. I hope we get along well.”

Penelope smiled sweetly, stepped closer to Silas and linked her arm through his.

The two of them looked perfectly at ease standing together. She was the partner Silas had mentioned earlier who was going to arrive late.

“Well, then. We’ll leave the two of you here. I hope you enjoy the evening.”

Jayden winked at Silas and Penelope.

Leaving the well-matched pair behind, he led Kyla towards the back terrace that opened onto the garden.

The terrace was quiet.

It felt completely different to the ballroom, which was filled with the warmth and excitement of young men and women.

There were no footsteps from other guests, and although it was almost June, the night air was still rather cold.

Kyla, wearing a sleeveless ball gown, shivered slightly.

“You must be cold.”

Jayden looked at Kyla with a worried expression.

“It’s a bit chilly.”

“It is a little cold, but I’m fine, brother. I was feeling a little suffocated anyway, so it’s nice to come outside.”

Kyla smiled softly at him.

Jayden felt a pang in his chest.

At some point, whenever she said she was fine—whenever she smiled so brightly like a young girl—his heart began to ache.

“Wait here a moment. I’ll ask one of the cloakroom maids to bring your coat.”

“I’m really alright…”

“I’ll be right back.”

Jayden smiled and headed toward the ballroom. Just as he stepped inside, a servant approached him quickly.

“Are you Mr. Feilding?”

“What is it?”

“A telegram has arrived from your residence.”

A telegram?

Something must have happened at home.

“Who has the telegram?”

“The valet is waiting for you at the entrance of the ballroom.”

“I understand. I’ll go at once.”

The servant bowed and was about to step away.

“Ah, wait a moment! My sister is on the terrace leading out to the garden. Could you please ask her to go to the ballroom and wait there for a while? She has dark brown hair and is quite tall, so she’ll be easy to spot. Please do it right away.”

With those words, Jayden quickly disappeared towards the lobby.

The servant bowed towards his retreating back. Then he turned around and headed towards the terrace to deliver the message to the gentleman’s sister.

“Wait.”

A beautiful young lady with reddish-brown hair called out to him.

“Yes, miss.”

“Could you bring me a glass of champagne?”

The young lady spoke with a gentle smile. It was rare for a noble lady to smile at a servant like that.

“Ah… Miss, I’m terribly sorry, but I’m currently delivering a message for a gentleman. I’ll bring the champagne as soon as I finish. My apologies.”

He bowed deeply.

“What kind of errand is it… may I know?”

The lady lowered her voice slightly and discreetly placed a gold coin in his hand.

On reflection, there was nothing particularly secret about the message. Revealing it probably wouldn’t cause any trouble.

Besides, it was a gold coin.

He swallowed and spoke.

“Well… the gentleman asked me to tell his sister to come inside the ballroom and wait for him.”

“Oh… so no one is hurt? Nothing urgent?”

“N-no, of course not… nothing like that.”

“Then please bring me the champagne first. I’m so thirsty I might faint.”

The servant remembered the gentleman’s words—right away.

At that moment, the beautiful lady standing before him smiled again and slipped a second gold coin into his hand.

“Ah… yes. Understood, miss.”

The servant bowed deeply.

Two gold coins.

Today was truly his lucky day.

What harm could it do if the young lady waiting for her brother on the terrace had to wait a little longer?

Glancing around quickly to make sure no one was watching, he slipped the coins into his pocket.

Then he hurried off to fetch the champagne.